Green Bay — The Green Bay Packers' chance to defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers died amid mild controversy on the goal line late Sunday afternoon at snowy Lambeau Field.

Nothing of significance died, however, when the Chicago Bears were humiliated by the Philadelphia Eagles, 54-11, in Philadelphia on Sunday night.

Thus, the Packers (7-7-1) and Bears (8-7) will meet at 3:25 p.m. next Sunday at Soldier Field with the NFC North Division championship at stake.

"We'll be ready, man," nose tackle Ryan Pickett said after the Packers fell to the Steelers, 38-31. "We'll definitely be ready...and very confident.

"We've been fighting and playing hard. Tonight, we just came up short."

The 188th meeting between the National Football League's oldest rivals will be similar in winner-take-all format to the NFC Championship Game in January 2011 at Soldier Field won by the Packers, 21-14.

"Remember that?" said cornerback Sam Shields. "We go back to 2010. It'd be just like that.

"We're going into their house. It's going to be tough. Any game around this time of month, it's crazy. As you saw today."

The Bears, a 27-20 victor at Lambeau Field on Nov. 4 in the game when Aaron Rodgers suffered a fractured collarbone, will be trying to sweep the Packers for the first time since 2005. Green Bay also has won three straight at Soldier Field.

"First thing is, we have a chance," said cornerback Tramon Williams. "It's Green Bay-Chicago, the oldest rivalry in sports. That's the way you want to end it, with Green Bay and Chicago."

The Packers, 20-1 in regular-season home finales since their renaissance began in 1992, couldn't overcome a pair of second-half turnovers by Matt Flynn that produced 14 points for the Steelers (7-8), who remain mathematically alive for an AFC wild-card playoff berth.

"Obviously, it was a very hard-fought game," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. "I have a lot of respect for this football team and what was at stake for both sides. It was a tough environment to come in and do the job."

In a game filled with bizarre plays, lucky breaks and uneven performance on both sides, the outcome came down to the final seconds.

At the 2-minute mark, Flynn tried to hot-foot it on a third-and-8 scramble, was stripped by Troy Polamalu a yard short of the marker and the Steelers recovered.

"I saw what he saw," coach Mike McCarthy said. "Matt's a good athlete and he was competing. I have no problem with what he attempted there."

The defense held, but before Shaun Suisham could attempt a 28-yard field goal on fourth and 3, linebacker Nick Perry was penalized for encroachment.

With the ball on the 5, Dom Capers aligned his unit in a run-stopping 4-4. But rookie Le'Veon Bell, as he had all afternoon in rushing for 124 yards in 26 carries, was better than the defense by slamming off left tackle to the 1.

The Packers then called their final timeout.

"We thought they were going to take a knee. They gave us a chance," Pickett said, adding that the defense intentionally gave Bell the 1-yard touchdown on the next play.

Then the Packers, the NFL's worst kickoff-return team almost all season, responded with a 70-yard runback by Micah Hyde.

"Any time you get a return like that, especially with no timeouts, it's a big help," guard Josh Sitton said. "We were confident we could go score for sure."

From the 31, Flynn delivered two strikes that Jordy Nelson and Andrew Quarless turned into 25 yards and a first down at the 5.

James Starks, subbing for injured Eddie Lacy (aggravated ankle), charged ahead to the 1. As the clock ran, McCarthy called another run off that same right side, but the play was blown dead with 20 seconds showing.

This time, center Evan Dietrich-Smith made a critical error, failing to snap the ball on time. T.J. Lang and perhaps Don Barclay as well moved prematurely. Referee Carl Cheffers marched the ball back to the 6.

"The false start was my fault," said Dietrich-Smith. "It was one of those things. It got really loud and I couldn't really hear Matt. We were rushing trying to catch them off-guard. I didn't get the snap count 100% and I snapped it late."

In accordance with the run-off rule, Cheffers instructed the timekeeper to click the clock down to 0:10. Umpire Undrey Wash then stood over Dietrich-Smith, left when Cheffers replaced him over the ball and then returned when waved in once more by Cheffers.

"Usually when the head guy and the umpire take their hands off the ball you can snap it," Dietrich-Smith said. "He's kind of in control of that.

"The whatchamacallit, the head guy (Cheffers), comes up and stops it and makes the guy (Wash) come up and do it again. I heard the ref say, 'We're going to start it on my go.' Then all of a sudden the ump came up."

Confusion reigned.

Said Barclay: "We were on the ball ready to go. I have no answer why he was hovering over Dietrich. There was one guy, and then another guy came in. I've never seen stuff like that before. That's hard to take."

When Cheffers signaled for the clock to start, Flynn moved into shotgun position, put his fingers to his mouth and then pointed to the left, where Jarrett Boykin was flanked wide against Ike Taylor and Jordy Nelson was in the slot.

The arm gesture, coming at 0:05, was an audible in which Flynn was telling Boykin and Nelson to run companion in-breaking routes.

Finally, Flynn asked for the ball at about 0:03 and then threw for Boykin, who was blanketed by Taylor while Nelson was much more open by comparison.

The pass had no chance, sailing over Boykin's outstretched hands as Taylor undercut the route with textbook coverage.

When the Packers looked up, the clock read :00. When he was standing at the line with 10 seconds showing, Barclay figured they would have at least one more play, if not two.

"I didn't know the game was over," said Sitton. "I thought we'd have at least 2 seconds.

"But I don't think that whole series of events at the end is the reason we lost. There's plenty of plays earlier in the game we could have made."

Nevertheless, more and more games each year are decided at the finish. The Flynn fumble, the lousy goal-line defense, the false-start penalty and the failure to execute after the run-off all are reasons why the Packers are what they are.

Which is, a .500 team riddled by injuries aligned in a weak division that has now played more snaps with three backup quarterbacks than with Rodgers.

"The whole season's been highs and lows," Nelson said. "Can't get any lower than what Detroit was on Thanksgiving. Last week obviously was great. This week was one play away. We complete that and who knows what happens in overtime.

"They're all tough to win, especially this year. There's a lot of people hovering around .500. The skills and talent around the league are evening out."

Winning the division title for the third year in a row. Playing at Lambeau Field on wild-card weekend as the No. 4 seed in the NFC playoffs.

All that still remains a possibility for this mediocre Green Bay squad.

Are the Packers really fit for the postseason? No apologies are necessary if they beat their archrival on the road in the dead of winter a week hence.

TIME CHANGE

With the NFC North title at stake, the the Packers-Bears game has been moved from its original noon start to 3:25 p.m. Sunday. It will still be carried by Fox (Ch.6).

About Bob McGinn

Bob McGinn is a beat writer and columnist covering the Green Bay Packers. A six-time Wisconsin state sportswriter of the year, he won the Dick McCann Memorial Award in 2011 for long and distinguished reporting on pro football.